WBEZ | Woodstockhttp://www.wbez.org/tags/woodstock
Latest from WBEZ Chicago Public RadioenOrson Welles at Woodstockhttp://www.wbez.org/blogs/john-r-schmidt/2013-06/orson-welles-woodstock-107601
<p><p>For 120 years, the Opera House in Woodstock has stood at the southern end of the town square. In 1934 entertainment history was made there. That&rsquo;s when a 19-year-old prodigy named Orson Welles scored his first triumph.</p><p>Welles started acting as a student at the nearby Todd School for Boys.&nbsp;After that he&nbsp;bounced around the theatrical world for a few years.&nbsp;Meanwhile, back at Todd, headmaster Roger Hill was making tentative plans for a summer drama course.</p><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/06-11--Welles%20%28Van%20Vechten%20L%20of%20C%29.jpg" style="width: 270px; height: 346px; float: right;" title="Young Orson Welles (Van Vechten photo, Library of Congress)" /></div><p>Now Welles returned to Woodstock, took the idea, and proceeded to &ldquo;jazz it up.&rdquo;&nbsp;He proposed a full-scale summer drama festival at the Opera House.</p><p>Welles knew all about the old summer-stock barn shows.&nbsp;His vision was for something greater.&nbsp;Each year music lovers made pilgrimages to Bayreuth and Salzburg in Europe.&nbsp;He would create the same excitement here!&nbsp;Woodstock would become the summer capital of American theater!</p><p>Headmaster Hill signed on.&nbsp;Then Welles went to work.</p><p>He secured the &ldquo;delighted co-operation&rdquo; of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce.&nbsp;He imported two star actors he&rsquo;d met in Ireland.&nbsp;He&nbsp;recruited prominent Chicagoans for a Friends of the Festival&nbsp;Committee.&nbsp;He threw parties.&nbsp;He charmed reporters.&nbsp;He turned out mountains of breathless publicity.</p><p>The festival opened on July 12.&nbsp;Patrons motored in from all over the city and the North Shore, the press came on a chartered bus.&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;It is a&nbsp;gala occasion, perhaps the most exciting the little town of Woodstock has ever had,&rdquo; the <em>Tribune</em> reported.&nbsp;&ldquo;The whole&nbsp;town was out to watch the guests assemble in front of the theatre.&rdquo;</p><p>The first play was <em>Trilby</em>, a once-popular relic of the 1890s. Welles directed, and also played the villain hypnotist, Svengali.&nbsp;The reviews were mainly positive.&nbsp;And everyone loved&nbsp;the venue.</p><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/06-11--Woodstock%20Opera%20House.jpg" style="width: 270px; height: 345px; float: left;" title="Woodstock Opera House" /></div><p><em>Trilby</em> ran for two weeks.&nbsp;Next on the bill was <em>Hamlet</em>.&nbsp;Rather than play the title character, Welles cast himself as another villain, King Claudius.&nbsp;His performance was over the top&ndash;some critics&nbsp;liked it, others&nbsp;loathed it.&nbsp;But Chicago was talking about the magic going on up at Woodstock.</p><p>The&nbsp;season closed with&nbsp;<em>Tsar Paul</em>.&nbsp;This Russian tragedy had never been staged in America.&nbsp;Again Welles played a supporting role, a 60-year-old general.&nbsp;His performance was powerful yet restrained, making the audience forget he wasn&rsquo;t even old enough to vote.</p><p>The&nbsp;final curtain was lowered on&nbsp;August 19.&nbsp;The&nbsp;venture&nbsp;had been a grand success, though the financial results were mixed.&nbsp;Welles moved on with his career, and never staged a second festival in Woodstock.</p><p>Today the&nbsp;Opera House continues to provide a variety of live entertainment.&nbsp;The big summer event is the annual Mozart festival.&nbsp;The town was also the major location for Bill Murray&rsquo;s movie <em>Groundhog Day</em>.</p><p>Orson Welles has become a legend.&nbsp;And the legend&nbsp;was born&nbsp;at Woodstock in 1934.&nbsp;Drama critic Claudia Cassidy saw it coming, when she wrote: &ldquo;Perhaps the Festival&rsquo;s chief achievement will be to permit a lot of people to say of Orson Welles, &lsquo;I saw him when . . .&rsquo;&rdquo;</p></p>Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:00:00 -0500http://www.wbez.org/blogs/john-r-schmidt/2013-06/orson-welles-woodstock-107601Speaking with Read Between The Lynes' Owner Arlene Lynes: Woodstock's Hometown Bookstorehttp://www.wbez.org/blogs/claire-zulkey/2013-02/speaking-read-between-lynes-owner-arlene-lynes-woodstocks-hometown
<img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://llnw.wbez.org/main-images/487984_610652125627416_569959123_n.png" alt="" /><p><p><span id="internal-source-marker_0.4310620139191145">A few years ago when I was promoting my novel I was invited to the cleverly-named independent bookstore </span><a href="http://www.readbetweenthelynes.com/">Read Between the Lynes in Woodstock</a> to make an appearance. I was charmed by the lovely, warm store located in the town square, which feels like a shopping locale from another era (specifically, one that recurs again and again; Woodstock, as you may know, was where <em>Groundhog Day</em> was filmed.) As part of WBEZ&rsquo;s closer look at Woodstock, I sent some questions to Read Between the Lynes owner and operator Arlene Lynes.<br /><br /><strong>How and when did you come to Woodstock?</strong><br />I came to Woodstock in March of 1997. &nbsp;We relocated here from New Jersey for a new position for my husband.<br /><br /><strong>How has Woodstock changed since you first arrived?</strong><br />Woodstock has grown with lots of new housing/retail developments in the past 16 years. &nbsp;Not all bad, but the flavor of agriculture is not as prominent!<br /><br /><strong>What type of community is it to live and work in? Do you think it&#39;s friendlier to independent businesses than other cities?</strong><br />Woodstock is an incredible community to work and live in. &nbsp;While we definitely are a small town community, we have so very much to offer. &nbsp;Of course I am biased, but yes, I believe Woodstock to be friendlier and more supportive to Independent businesses. &nbsp;Due to the size of our town, we know one another and enjoy doing business with our friend and neighbors.<br /><br /><strong>Is there much of a tourist connection anymore to the movie Groundhog Day?</strong><br />There is a HUGE tourist connection to Groundhog Days, still. &nbsp;It keeps getting bigger, it seems. &nbsp;Many European travelers stop in over the course of the year due to our being the filming location.<br /><br /><strong>What are some of your favorite places/things to do in Woodstock?</strong><br />I absolutely adore the <a href="http://www.woodstockoperahouse.com/">Woodstock Opera House</a>. &nbsp;It holds so many diverse programs, from the daytime Creative Living Series hosted by the Woodstock Fine Arts Association (of which Rick Kogan was one of their speakers a few years back), to Tribute Rock concerts, Community Theatre performances and nationally known performers, as well as The Mozart Festival. <a href="http://www.woodstockoperahouse.com/files/StageLeft/StageLeftCafe.html">Stage Left Cafe&#39;</a> (adjacent to the Opera House) is run by the City of Woodstock as well and holds Open Mics, Jazz performances and Storytelling sessions with performers from around the world. &nbsp;I guess it&#39;s obvious I&#39;m a fan of the Arts, and I love the diversity we have here. &nbsp;In the summer we have City Band concerts every Wednesday night on the town Square. They will be celebrating their 129th consecutive season this summer. &nbsp;Also, a Music Fest and Folk Music festival run as well.<br /><br /><strong>What are some of your favorite other small businesses in town?</strong><br /><a href="http://www.expresslyleslie.com/">Expressly Leslie</a> is a vegetarian restaurant conveniently located across the street from us. <a href="http://www.etherealconfections.com/">Ethereal Confections</a> makes the best chocolate I may have ever had! <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/mixteca-mexican-grill-and-tequila-bar-woodstock">Mixteca</a> is an authentic Mexican restaurant that has amazing margaritas.<br /><br /><strong>What&#39;s one thing (or two) you think could improve or update the town square?</strong><br />I would love to see the Woodstock Square filled with a variety of independent up &amp; coming retail and eateries. &nbsp;As we emerge from this economic challenge of times, I hope to see us grow in these areas.<br /><br /><strong>What have been some of the most popular books that you sell?</strong><br />We sell a lot of children&#39;s picture books and general fiction. That being said, we love to sell Chicago authors, <a href="http://www.lauracaldwell.com/">Laura Caldwell</a> is from this area, so she is always a big seller.<br /><br /><strong>What have been some of the most memorable events you&#39;ve hosted?</strong><br />Hosting Orion Samuelson of WGN this past December was certainly memorable, as the line was down the sidewalk; also children&#39;s author/illustrator Tom Lichtenheld, he is an absolute genius and relates so well with children of all ages. &nbsp;But let us not forget Rick Kogan who has packed the house!<br /><br /><strong>What tips would you recommend for someone considering bringing a gigantic dog to work with them?</strong><br />This question made me laugh out loud. &nbsp;My recommendations for bringing a gigantic dog to work with them would be, make sure the dog is well trained and you have back-up to allow for walks and breaks. &nbsp;Also, don&#39;t be offended when most everyone comments, &quot;that&#39;s the biggest dog I think I&#39;ve ever seen!&quot;<br /><br /><u>Read Between the Lynes will be hosting a 2nd birthday party for Nika, its store mascot on Monday, March 18th at 1 pm. Birthday cake will be available for humans. Read Between the Lynes is located at &nbsp;129 Van Buren St. Woodstock, IL 60098, (815) 206-5967</u></p></p>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:12:00 -0600http://www.wbez.org/blogs/claire-zulkey/2013-02/speaking-read-between-lynes-owner-arlene-lynes-woodstocks-hometownWoodstock: Beyond the Groundhog's shadowhttp://www.wbez.org/news/culture/woodstock-beyond-groundhogs-shadow-105615
<p><p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F80126382" width="100%"></iframe></p><p>Twenty-one years ago the town square in Woodstock, Illinois was just another idyllic little red cobble-stoned street surrounded by quaint shops and historic buildings.<br /><br />Then actor/director Harold Ramis, known for films such as <em>Ghostbusters</em> and <em>Caddyshack</em>, allegedly took a trip out to the far northwestern Chicago suburb and viewed the town and its square from the vantage point of the old bell tower in the town&rsquo;s beloved Opera House.<br /><br />He decided to cast the town, its square and its people in a little flick that would pump millions into the local economy and forever associate the place with groundhogs and Bill Murray stuck in a never-ending February 2.<br /><br />The film, <em>Groundhog Day</em>, was released Feb. 12, 1993, and more than 80 percent of the initial filming took place in and around the town square of Woodstock. Now more than 20 years later, the town and its people still venerate the chubby woodchuck enough to hold their own week-long festival that culminates in a prognostication to rival that of Punxsutawney Phil.<br /><br />Rather than attend the festival and join up with the crowds enjoying the festivities of Groundhog Week in Woodstock, we opted to visit the town a week after the festival, just to get a sense for what normal life is like there.</p><br /><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/8490960300_bc98452275_z.jpg" style="height: 127px; width: 620px;" title="" /></div><p>WBEZ producer Eilee Heikenen-Weiss and I arrived on a Tuesday morning to skies that were grey and ominous, much like they had been in the film, only we didn&rsquo;t have a threat of blizzard hanging over us.<br /><br />We drove slowly around the red-brick square, coming to a stop near the Starbucks, which was a block or so from the eye-catching Opera House in an already idyllic setting.<br /><br />In need of caffeine after the hour-and-a-half drive from downtown Chicago, we stopped into Starbucks only to find the place overtaken by the <a href="http://home.netcom.com/~fuffle/HTS/current.htm">Hollow Tree Spinners</a>, a group of fiber artists publicly spinning wool into yarn.<br /><br />&ldquo;We think that more people need to see people doing the crafts that are important to what the pioneers did and what people still enjoy doing,&rdquo; Jean Hervert Niemann, of Marengo, told us. &ldquo;The way you get to yarn. Most people don&rsquo;t even know.&rdquo;</p><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/8489860939_3be0ced98e_z.jpg" style="height: 225px; width: 300px; float: right;" title="" />They show up every Tuesday and spread out around the large wooden table pulling combed fibers, some of it locally produced, into the diameter they want and then spinning it into yarn for knitting, crocheting or weaving.</div><p>&ldquo;The Starbucks is great, Niemann said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll see everyone in town come through here.&rdquo;<br /><br />It&rsquo;s not quite the place you&rsquo;d expect people to gather, but the Tom Waits on the sound system and the crafters suggested otherwise.<br /><br />Their husbands sat around the other end of the table chatting about beekeeping over coffee. And sure enough, as folks lined up for their beverage, they chatted amicably with the spinning club members about Alpaca, bobbins and skeins of handspun yarn.<br /><br />It was an auspicious start to the day, with barely a mention of land beavers or Bill Murray.<br /><br /><strong>The Opera House</strong><br /><br />The limestone, terra cotta and fieldstone building sits themed in beige and red colors as the main architectural feature in town, which befits its historical designation as the town&rsquo;s main attraction.</p><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/8489861825_b2db32cb0f_z.jpg" style="height: 234px; width: 350px; float: left;" title="" /></div><p>John Scharres is the director of the Woodstock Opera House. It&rsquo;s a city job, because the city runs the Opera House just like it runs the police department, the fire department or the library department.<br /><br />&ldquo;Historically, there were a lot of municipalities that had facilities like this,&rdquo; Scharres said. &ldquo;Especially in the midwest. You weren&#39;t a happening municipality if you didn&rsquo;t have an auditorium in the community for people to get together en masse to be educated, entertained or recognized for some important achievement in the community.&rdquo;<br /><br />If you watched the film, then you should recognize it as the Pennsylvania Hotel, a central location and backdrop throughout the movie.<br /><br />Its iconic bell tower is the place from which Murray&rsquo;s character tries to end the Sisyphean repetition once and for all by jumping off. &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Groundhog Day is not the only brush with Hollywood for the old building. Renowned actor/director Orson Welles attended the Todd School for Boys in Woodstock and began his career belting lines from the small stage in the auditorium of the building.<br /><br />Scharres said the stage is almost accurate to the way it looked in 1890, when it was built in the style of the grand theaters on the riverboats that once plied the Mississippi.<br /><br />&ldquo;Well, you can&rsquo;t use open flame in the lights anymore,&rdquo; Scharres said wistfully.<br /><br />You wouldn&rsquo;t know it to look at it, but behind the soft light and the antique fixtures and muted colors is a high-tech sound and lighting system.<br /><br />&ldquo;Probably the most technically sophisticated theater of its size really anywhere,&rdquo; Scharres said proudly.</p><br /><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/8491083989_2ed9edd49d_z.jpg" style="height: 234px; width: 350px; float: left;" title="" /></div><p>It doesn&rsquo;t take much to get him talking about the town&rsquo;s entertainment prowess and Hollywood connections.<br /><br />&ldquo;Woodstock has a lot of history,&rdquo; Scharres said. &ldquo;<em>Scenes from Planes, Trains and Automobiles</em> were filmed here and Alan Arkin&rsquo;s <em>American Playhouse</em>.&rdquo;<br /><br />Like the 6 a.m. alarm clock in Groundhog Day, where you hear Sonny and Cher sing <em>I Got You Babe again</em>, and again, and again, the conversation inevitably returns to the film.<br /><br />&ldquo;We used to eat them, and now we celebrate them,&rdquo; Scharres said jokingly about groundhogs.</p><p><br />The first prognostication brought about 20-30 people, mostly from Woodstock. But as the film began to take on an almost cult-like status, the curious showed up to see the fake Punxsutawney, PA.<br /><br />Chicago day trippers, Midwestern weekenders and eventually buses full of Japanese tourists arrived. This year, just a few weeks ago in fact, there were more than 800 people there in the early morning of February 2 to hear the prognosticator of prognosticators indicate that spring would be early.<br /><br />Thousands more participated in activities throughout the week during Groundhog Days.<br /><br />Scharres calls it a slow burn.<br /><br />&ldquo;If it hadn&rsquo;t been such a successful movie, we would have not probably embraced it so much after the fact,&rdquo; Scharres said. &ldquo;If it had been something like <em>Dude, Where&rsquo;s my Car</em>, we would probably hide our faces in shame. But this has long-term staying power.&rdquo;<br /><br />Embracing the film might be putting it lightly.<br /><br />There are <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagopublicradio/sets/72157632808243325/">plaques in nooks and crannies</a> all around the square depicting where Bill Murray stepped and indicating Ned&rsquo;s Corner.<br /><br />There is somewhat of karmic cycle for Woodstockians too, as Scharres likes to call townspeople.<br /><br />&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a blessing and a curse,&rdquo; Scharres said. &ldquo;I keep wondering what I have to do to get myself out of the loop, because we kind of live <em>Groundhog Day</em> here. On the other hand, it&rsquo;s been a really good boon for the city. We get a lot of positive publicity. We get a lot of tourists, many of whom come back for other events here.&rdquo;<br /><br />Woodstock is a big, old slice of Americana, and the town offers far more than a walking tour of an old Hollywood movie set.<br /><br />Scharres oversees all of the technical setup for the City Band, which performs all summer in the gazebo in the square. There&rsquo;s a jazz festival, farmer&rsquo;s market and parades. The city is definitely setting itself up to be a regional musical destination with its investment in the Opera House.</p><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/8490960420_fcec148a32_z.jpg" style="height: 234px; width: 350px; float: right;" title="" /></div><p>&ldquo;A lot of the basic structure was restored,&rdquo; Scharres said. &ldquo;This one we were able to year after year, bite after bite, do one project after another. We did a complete rehabilitation of the roof, reversed improper construction, rebuilt 114 windows, cleaned and rebuilt the stone work. And the reconstruction of the portico from old photos took 17 years.&rdquo;<br /><br /><strong>Stepping out of the Groundhog&rsquo;s Shadow</strong><br /><br />Like most towns, Woodstock has been impacted by the recession, and the challenges for city departments and small businesses are the same as other similar-sized towns.<br /><br />The movie&rsquo;s influence might be strong around the start of February, and the town certainly has made investments in infrastructure and development, but Bill Murray&rsquo;s influence won&rsquo;t last forever.<br /><br />&ldquo;It&rsquo;s sad,&rdquo; Jim Davis said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of like we&rsquo;re still talking about the &#39;85 Bears.&rdquo;<br /><br />Davis has a front-row seat to the action on the quaint town square. He owns a building that houses his wife&rsquo;s telephone counseling business, The Divorce Busting Center.<br /><br />His business is not reliant on tourism.<br /><br />&ldquo;So you&rsquo;ve walked around the square? Have you seen the plaques?&rdquo; he asked us. &ldquo;Ned&rsquo;s corner. Bill Murray jumped off the tower. You&rsquo;d think we&rsquo;d have more going on here than that.&rdquo;<br /><br />He concedes that the square is pretty, and though he doesn&rsquo;t know what would make the town more viable, he knows exactly what he&rsquo;d like to see there.</p><p>&ldquo;Some good restaurants would be a great start,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult in small towns to make them viable. Parking is a problem. It doesn&rsquo;t have the money that a Geneva or St. Charles has, but it&rsquo;s physically quaint.&rdquo;<br /><br />Speaking of food, we ate lunch at La Petite Creperie &amp; Bistrot, which is a popular lunch spot for locals and visitors alike. <a href="http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/3136641">I ate the Pâté Sandwich</a> with fries and washed it down with a Dutch beer.</p><p>Even though there are dozens of good food options in Woodstock, the square has had its troubles.<br /><br />&ldquo;Restaurants have had a difficult time lately,&rdquo; Mayor Brian Sager told WBEZ. &ldquo;Some have had to shut their doors, there has been some turnover of our restaurants.&rdquo;<br /><br />But he says that&rsquo;s not abnormal for a place like the town square in Woodstock.<br /><br />&ldquo;We just revitalized an economic commission to talk more specifically with businesses,&rdquo; Sager said. &ldquo;How to help them and see what their needs are.&rdquo;</p><div class="image-insert-image "><img alt="" class="image-original_image" src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/8490960534_1a84667821_z.jpg" style="height: 234px; width: 350px; float: left;" title="" /></div><p>More foot traffic, more music attractions and a general influx of food businesses would help, according to Sager.<br /><br />&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve identified as being themed as a dining and entertainment destination,&rdquo; he said. &quot;Events focused around music like folk, jazz and Mozart. It will bring people interested in music to square area.&rdquo;<br /><br />But so does Bill Murray&rsquo;s bronze shoe imprint on a sidewalk next to a Mexican restaurant formerly built as a prop for the cafe scenes in <em>Groundhog Day</em>, for now.<br /><br />The trick will be to figure out what draws people to Woodstock in 20 years.<br /><br />And the town is betting its going to be their quaint, idyllic movie-set of a town square.<br /><br />&ldquo;Come here on a summer Wednesday and the band is playing in the gazebo, the birds are chirping and the sun is shining,&rdquo; John Scharres said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like something out of a picture book.&rdquo;</p><p><object height="520" width="620"><param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fchicagopublicradio%2Fsets%2F72157632755935777%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fchicagopublicradio%2Fsets%2F72157632755935777%2F&amp;set_id=72157632755935777&amp;jump_to=" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=124984" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&amp;lang=en-us&amp;page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fchicagopublicradio%2Fsets%2F72157632755935777%2Fshow%2F&amp;page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fchicagopublicradio%2Fsets%2F72157632755935777%2F&amp;set_id=72157632755935777&amp;jump_to=" height="520" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=124984" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="620"></embed></object></p><a href="http://www.wbez.org/users/takimoff" rel="author">Tim Akimoff</a> is the digital content editor at WBEZ. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/timakimoff"> Twitter </a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/timakimoff"> Facebook </a></p>Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:34:00 -0600http://www.wbez.org/news/culture/woodstock-beyond-groundhogs-shadow-105615Weather may hamper Woodstock, Illinois', big Groundhog Day planshttp://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/weather-may-hamper-woodstock-illinois-big-groundhog-day-plans
<img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://llnw.wbez.org/Groundhog Day movie.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>In a suburban Illinois town everyone looks to one creature for their winter forecast. That would be Woodstock Willie, aka the town&rsquo;s version of Punxsutawney Phil from Pennsylvania. Woodstock, Illinois, got its 15 minutes of fame when the movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/" target="_blank"><em>Groundhog Day</em></a> was filmed there. And every year they welcome back the groundhog with a series of events.<br /><br />Maggie Crane is part of the <a href="http://woodstockgroundhog.org/" target="_blank">Woodstock&rsquo;s Intersquare Committee</a> charged with organizing Groundhog Day activities in Woodstock. Crane joined <em>Eight Forty-Eight</em> to talk about what&rsquo;s going on with the celebrations.</p></p>Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:25:00 -0600http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/weather-may-hamper-woodstock-illinois-big-groundhog-day-plans